Philipsburg:--- The United Telecommunications Services (UTS) management has launched an SMS service which is aimed at raising funds to assist Haiti said Glen Carty of UTS St. Maarten. Carty said that the moment UTS learnt of the devastation Haiti suffered on Tuesday afternoon with the 7.0 earthquake they have decided to drop their rates by 75% to that country for an indefinite period. Carty said they contacted their counterparts in Haiti and was told that communication to Haiti is very difficult since they also suffered damage. Apart from that, Haitians from around the world are trying to make contact with their love ones, which is congesting their systems. Carty said UTS has decided to keep the reduced rate for an indefinite period. UTS is also offering members of the Haitian community to take advantage of their free internet services at any of their Chippie locations on St. Maarten, namely Cole Bay and Philipsburg to make contact with their relatives. He said the internet is working well in Haiti and since the phone lines are practically jacked up they have decided to allow members of the Haitian community to have free access to the internet.
Carty said UTS also launched a SMS code which is aimed at raising monies to send to Haiti. Persons interested in donating to Haiti can type the word "HAITI" in their SMS messaging by sending the message to 4357 (HELP). UTS would then deduct $1.00 from the callers prepaid account or they would add $1.00 to the caller postpaid account which would go towards helping Haiti. UTS already contacted the Red Cross who would assist UTS St. Maarten in making sure the funds reached its rightful destination.
Carty made clear that the Haitian community on St. Maarten has helped in the island's economic development and this is one way Chippie has chosen to help them in their time of need.
He said the dropping of the rates on Tuesday night is not new to the company since they have done so in the past when other nations are in distress.